Episodes 20 & 21 – Kat Heckenbach

We were delighted to have Kat Heckenbach on the podcast this week! Kat is the author of Finding Angel & Seeking Unseen, both entries in the Toch Island Chronicles. With origins in biology, math, and art, her journey to become an author took a bit of circuitous route.

We had a bit of technical difficulties with this podcast, so we apologize for a few blips here and there. I think Aaron suggests juggling a couple rabbits and/or tin foil for the next time. 😉

Happenings In Part 1:

With Kat’s background in biology, she shares how that informs the Toch Island Chronicles. The flora and fauna are very important details in her books! The Lord of the Rings is also discussed and how it figures into Kat’s favorite character in her books. There’s magically-powered electric guitars involved! (This, I gotta see!) With the biology background, it really feeds into how adamant Kat is about the setting of her books. I can’t recall if we’ve seen any of our guests so far be so firm about a story location! Reasons for writing fantasy abound, and there be sheep involved! And as we get into Kat’s answer to our superhero question, Aaron brings up some trivia about the making of The Avengers.

Goings On In Part 2:

As we shift into writing mode, we of course ask our plotting versus pantsing question. Kat’s answer involves a lot of notecards. Can you guess her answer? Because Aaron has an irreverent solution to her notecard “problem.” About that point in the show, we start plotting against Aaron’s neighbor’s tree….which continues to cause connectivity issues for the podcast. Getting back on track (is this a possibility with this bunch?), we talk about a lack of snacks and drinks with Kat and why that is.

We hates research, Precious! That is why we writes fantasy!

Every writer’s favorite part of the episode: Kat offers some of her favorite tips for marketing, and some are pretty off beat options, but definitely viable for most every author.

Even though Kat’s is a well-known Harry Potter fan, her answer to our new fandom question may surprise you. But her favorite book is the Harry Potter series. Can you guess which one? And as we wrap things up with Kat for this time, her most surprising thing about being a writer may just surprise you as well.

This and a whole lot more—with lots of laughing!—in this week’s episode.